


The Taking of a Toast and Tea (The "Rest for the Weary" Remix)

by kelly_chambliss



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Post-Deathly Hallows, Remix, Severus Snape Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 20:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4235259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kelly_chambliss/pseuds/kelly_chambliss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minerva and Severus after the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Taking of a Toast and Tea (The "Rest for the Weary" Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AstroGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroGirl/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Rest for the Weary](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/124107) by AstroGirl. 
  * In response to a prompt by [AstroGirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroGirl/pseuds/AstroGirl) in the [remixmadness2015](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/remixmadness2015) collection. 



> AstroGirl, I know this pairing and fandom are not your main ones, but you do Minerva/Severus so well that I couldn't resist spending a bit more time with your version of them.
> 
> The title comes from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."

Minerva watches as Severus spreads butter and then marmalade on a piece of toast, his movements as precise and economical as if he were brewing the most delicate of potions. The hand that lifts the toast to his mouth is perfectly steady, giving no hint of the screaming panic that blasted him out of his nightmare-filled sleep less than half an hour ago.

He never shares the details of these dreams, and of course she never asks. She merely rises and sets about an activity as ordinary as she can think of -- like making toast and tea. She can well imagine the demons that torment his nights, and in any case, the specifics don't matter. What matters is that he continues to get up every morning, continues to go about living the life that no one -- not she, not Severus himself -- had ever expected him to survive to lead.

That he has chosen to lead it with her is as much of a surprise as any outcome of the war -- equally as surprising as the fact that she has elected to cast her lot with him, a former Death Eater student over thirty years her junior.

There are days when the impossibility of such a decision still strikes her, but then she'll catch sight of his intense, hawkish face as he works on some abstruse potions theory, or he'll mutter a deliciously wicked remark meant for her ears alone, and her choice seems inevitable and right once more.

He rises to carry their dishes to the sink, brushing her hand lightly he collects the plates.

"It's your turn to see to the Sunday roast," she says, and is rewarded with a snort.

"Good. Then we may be assured of an edible dinner."

He heads through the living room to retrieve the Muggle morning newspaper that has just landed on their porch, and Minerva smiles into her tea.


End file.
